


Hiding

by ZouisMalinsonForever (loving_1D_louiszaynniallharryliam)



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Human Harry, Human Liam, Human Niall, Human Zayn, Human/Angel Louis, I feel stupid tagging humans, OT5 Friendship, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-13
Updated: 2015-01-20
Packaged: 2018-02-24 22:14:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2598347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loving_1D_louiszaynniallharryliam/pseuds/ZouisMalinsonForever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world where humans and the occasional angel coexist peacefully, Louis, Harry, Zayn, Liam and Niall are all humans.</p>
<p>Or so they thought…</p>
<p>Louis's been hiding a secret- a secret that could shake the foundations of their friendship and everything that they had built from scratch.</p>
<p>When the secret is revealed, will their friendship prevail or will they leave Louis alone to face his demons?</p>
<p>NEWLY EDITED~PLEASE ENJOY</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Decided to post this earlier than I thought~  
> I think I'm going to see whether you guys like it or not before I post the rest of it since it's my first One Direction / Angel fanfic~ so… hopefully you guys like it!

It had been a stressful week for Louis Tomlinson, human, and it was about to get worse.

The album was due next week, and the production manager was sick. So he, the Assistant Production Manager had to fill in. But not only did he had to finish the album which was not even halfway finished, the extra tracks and the backup songs in a week, he also had to deal with unexpected feelings that were rising to the surface.

He was never a human.

The public didn’t know, the fans didn’t know, and even his bandmates didn’t know the truth.

He was an Angel. Although he didn’t seem to have any wings, his eyes were blue, his hair was a caramel brown and he didn’t smell like an Angel, but in fact, he kept his wings shut by harnesses, dyed his hair, put on contacts, and took illegal Suppressants.

He alone knew how he looked like—dark blue wings tipped with silver and gold, lake blue eyes with a hint of green and black, and golden brown hair a shade lighter than Harry’s and Liam’s.

He thought that he looked... nice. What he didn’t know, was that many people would covet him if he ever came out. His wings were unique, his eyes mysterious, and his hair was perfection.

But he always thought that he was no one special.

He had taken Suppressants every day since he came out at age 12. Even though he knew that it was illegal, he was threatened to take his Suppressants every single day. Or else...

He was planning on continuing with the lie until... forever. He hoped.

If he came out as an Angel, it would shatter the fans’ hearts. They’d think that he was a liar, and in the process, he’d be destroying everything they had built from scratch—even their careers. So no, he couldn’t do that.

Anyway, he was exhausted. He’d been working from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m. every day from the past week and still continued to work at home. Not all of the songs were recorded yet, and some parts weren’t as well as he thought, so he had to call the others to sing their part again. They didn’t understand, though, and gave him some choice words, especially Zayn and Harry. It hurt. Today was supposed to be the first day since the past week that he had a real night’s sleep. However, he was disturbed by the TV.

“Sorry guys, but do you mind lowering the TV’s volume?” Louis groaned, coming out of his room.

“Lou, you know that it’s time for our favorite TV show. We always have the TV on when it’s time.” Liam frowned.

“If you want some peace and quiet, then go to the back of the bus, I’m sure you’d get some.” Zayn grumbled. Louis opened his mouth to retort, then thought better of it—he shouldn’t be resting, even though the process of making the album was faster than he thought. In fact, he should be working on the album right now. “Right. Sorry.” Louis said hastily, then scampered off to his room, intending to work again.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

“Coming!” Liam shouted, then ran to the door. Turned out that it was the pizza guy. Niall whooped, and went to eat. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Louis was sitting at his desk, gazing at the lyrics written on the paper. Pretty soon, his eyes drooped, and he collapsed onto his desk, sleepiness taking over, and he fell asleep. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zayn was just finishing the last piece of pizza, since they had left some for Paul, when the doorbell rang again. This time, Harry went to get the door. It was Paul.

“Hey, guys. Is Louis here?” “Yeah, he is, but he’s asleep, I suppose.” Liam answered, his response muffled by the pizza sticking out of his mouth.

“Well, it’s good to know that he’s finally been sleeping, but on the other hand, he needs to eat.” Paul frowned as he took a seat.

“We left some pizza for you, Paul.” Niall offered.

“No thanks, leave it to Louis.” Paul automatically said. “He hasn’t been eating much all week.”

“What?” Harry asked horrified. Paul sighed. “You guys didn’t notice?”

“I suppose not.” Zayn answered guiltily. “Well, as you all know, the album’s deadline was unexpectedly moved up by a week. And the production manager was coincidentally sick this week, but the album’s due next week. So, the assistant production manager—meaning Louis, had to fill in. He’s been working hard—too hard, I say, this week. Always arriving at the studio at 6 a.m. and leaving at 11 p.m. to 12 a.m., isn’t eating, just sitting at the studio working, and not getting enough sleep. I daresay that he works at home also. Everyone at the studio noticed that he’s getting thinner, the bags under his eyes are getting darker, and he’s pale. Some of them told me to give a thank-you gift to Louis” Paul hoisted a bag up “for helping out and producing the album, so I thought I’d dropped by. Besides, I’ve got something for him too—chicken soup, so he doesn’t starve to death.”

“Wait—that guy at the studio who told us to record the songs again—that was Louis?!” Harry exclaimed.

“Yeah, why?” Paul questioned. Harry and Zayn immediately averted their eyes to the ground.

“We might’ve, um, given him a few choice words or something like that?” Zayn mumbled.

“Really, Harry, Zayn?” Paul sighed again. “Anyway, you guys should’ve made sure that Louis wasn’t overworking too hard. You’re in the same band, for God’s sake! Even though I get that Louis isn’t as close as the four of you are, you still shouldn’t have done that.” Paul lectured.

“We’re really sorry.” Niall apologized.

“Don’t say it to me, say it to Louis.” Paul said, then left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sitting on the couch, each boy felt guilt crushing down on them.

“We should have noticed.” Liam finally spoke.

“How could we not notice?” Niall asked, mostly to himself.

“It’s our fault.” Harry concluded. None of them knew what to say afterwards. Instead, they trudged off to their own rooms and slept separately for the first time in weeks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Louis woke up to the sound of his phone ringing.

“Good morning.” Louis groaned.

“Hey, Louis, did you sleep well?” It was the sound manager, David.

“God, is it already 6? I’m sorry, I’ll come over as soon as possible.” Louis then hung up, not knowing that David actually wanted to tell him to not hurry.

Louis frantically pulled out his messenger bag, stuffing sheet after sheet of lyrics and sheet music inside. He pulled on a T-shirt and jeans, a pair of TOMs then ran out.

Suddenly, he saw a bag marked “To Louis” on the table. Curiosity getting to him, he opened the bag and saw gifts from various persons. He was overwhelmed. Louis looked at the bag then looked at the clock, noting that he was already late. Making a split decision, he tore a piece of paper from his notebook, scribbling “ _Hey guys, you can have these, don’t have enough time_ ” and placed the note on the table right next to the bag. After looking at the bag again, he grabbed the chicken soup, a pair of headphones, and all the medicine he could find before he ran to hail a taxi. After arriving at the studio, he instantly got out the lyrics and started furiously jotting down notes. His day had started.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Liam woke up groggily. He rolled out of bed, stretching his arms and walked to the kitchen. Suddenly, he froze, seeing the bag that was meant for Louis still sitting on the table. He hesitantly peeked inside the bag and noticed that the chicken soup and a few things had disappeared. Good. At least Louis took a few things. Liam then saw the note beside the bag. It was written in Louis's messy but quite beautiful handwriting.

_Hey guys, you can have these, don't have enough time._

Liam was suddenly a bit sad. Louis had to work so hard nowadays that he didn't even had the time to stop for a while.

"Liam?" He turned around and saw Harry.

"Harry, Lou's gone to work again." Liam sighed.

"Again?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Yeah." 

"God. He's going to collapse one day." Harry thrust a hand into his hair.

"But we can't do anything, can we?" Liam asked.

"We can't." Harry said sadly.


	2. Chapter 2

A week passed, with Louis leaving the house at 6 a.m. and arriving back home at 12 a.m. He rarely came out of his room, but they could all see the faint light coming out of his room even at 4 a.m.

They were so worried. According to Paul, the Doncaster boy hadn’t been eating at all. He’d only eat whenever someone reminded him to, and even then, it was to only eat a sandwich.

Liam had tried waking up earlier than Louis, but it was useless: Louis seemed to be leaving earlier and earlier every day. Once Liam had woken up to go to the toilet at 5:45 a.m. and Louis was already gone.

* * *

 

Luckily, the torturous week was finally over and Louis had already finished the album successfully. He had politely declined the invitation to ‘have a drink and celebrate’ and instead had opted to go back home for a nice long sleep. His contacts were killing his eyes and his wings hurt. He could take off his contacts but not his wings; the harness was padlocked and the key wasn’t in his hands.

However, his headache was pounding mercilessly and he was starting to get dizzy on the way back home. He felt like his body was on fire.

He managed to get back home before he almost collapsed in fatigue. Struggling to keep his eyes open, he popped out his contacts and put them in his pockets. He was so tired he couldn’t even take a step. Leaning on the door heavily, he took one step before slumping to the floor, unconsciousness and exhaustion taking over.

* * *

 

Paul had told Zayn that the album was finished. The boys decided to stay up and surprise Louis with a nice dinner and cake. Hence, they were sitting in Liam’s room watching TV when they heard a loud thump.

Throat constricting, they hurried out of the room to see Louis collapsed in front of the door, his eyes closed and leaning against the door. Liam picked the smaller boy up and almost dropped him in surprise.

“Guys, he’s burning up!” Liam called out.

“What?” Harry asked disbelievingly. The curly-haired lad felt Louis’s forehead with his hand and immediately dropped it.

“We need to make him a cold shower!” Harry shouted to Zayn and Niall, who gave a thumbs-up then disappeared into the toilet.

Liam put Louis on the sofa and ran into the kitchen, yelling that he was going to get a towel with ice, while Harry ghosted Louis’s forehead with his fingers. Louis seemed to be getting hotter and hotter by every minute.

“The shower’s ready!” Niall yelled. Harry lifted Louis with no difficulty, and carried him to the toilet.

Once there, the three of them tried to undress Louis. They got his jeans off first, then his shirt, and...

“Oh god.” Zayn breathed out. Underneath Louis’s shirt was a dark brown harness surrounding his upper body. On closer inspection, Zayn could clearly see a mini padlock dangling from it. And sprouting from Louis’s back were... wings?!

“Louis... has wings?” Niall asked, obviously shocked. “Wings, as in giant feathery things that can help you fly?”

“Yeah, Ni, wings, and a harness too.” Harry confirmed.

“Guys, harnesses are illegal!” Zayn exclaimed. Harry and Niall turned to look at him curiously.

“Seriously? You don’t know?” Zayn asked. Both of them shook their heads.

“Harnesses aren’t only discouraged, angels are forbidden to wear them. For those who wore it of their free will or forced, it’s still illegal.” Zayn explained.

“Louis can’t be wearing them of his free will, he must be forced to.” Harry reasoned.

“Yeah, I know, but Harry, the question is who.” Zayn said.

“Nope, the question is why aren’t we doing anything about it?!” The Irish boy shouted.

“What’s going on?’ Liam stuck his head through the door. As his eyes fell on Louis, he nearly toppled over.

“What...” Liam was at a loss for words.

“Long story short. Louis has wings, he’s wearing a highly forbidden and illegal harness, definitely not of his free will, and he’s an Angel.” Harry explained hurriedly.

“So why aren’t we taking it off?” Liam questioned.

“Because it has a padlock, guys! And since Lou was forced to wear it, it means that he doesn’t have the key! Now, can we put him in the shower, ‘cause he’s still burning up, ya know!” Zayn yelled.

“Right.” Niall helped Zayn get a still unconscious Louis into the freezing shower.

“I’ve got a thermometer.” Liam offered.

“Take his temperature, Li.” Harry ordered, his eyes still on Louis.

Liam was clearly displeased, but for the sake of their sick bandmate, he swallowed his displeasure and went to do as Harry said.

A few minutes later, Louis hadn’t shown any change. Liam took out the thermometer and gulped nervously.

“How is he?” Niall asked.

“He’s... his temperature is, like 105 degrees Fahrenheit.” Liam said haltingly.

An uneasy silence fell upon the room. In the band’s history, none of them had ever gotten a fever so high it was above 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

The silence was soon broken by a soft moan from the shower, making everyone jump and turn to face Louis. His eyes were flickering weakly, and he was struggling to get out of the shower. Seemed like the cold water finally had an effect on Louis.

“Lou, here, I’ll get you out.” Niall reached for Louis—and froze. In the bright light, he could see that the water had turned brown, and Louis’s hair was no longer a caramel brown. Instead, it was a beautiful golden brown lighter than Liam’s and Harry’s. His eyes, too—they were now a mystical lake blue with hints of green and black, instead of the cerulean blue that was mirrored on Niall’s face. The whole combination suited Louis even better—the wings, hair color and eye color. He looked... perfect.

It was apparent that Zayn, Liam and Harry had seen Louis too, from the gasps that came from behind.

Niall ignored everything and put his arms around Louis’s waist, his hands touching the edge of Lou’s wings—dark blue tipped with silver and gold.

After getting Louis out, Harry dressed him in comfy pajamas, then put him in bed. By then, Louis had already become a dead weight.

The four of them sat around the Doncaster boy—no, angel and looked at each other with identical shocked expressions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So guys, for reference, the hair dye used by Louis in the story is not permanent. I don't know if non-permanent hair dye exists... if it doesn't, well, just assume I made it up.
> 
> Oh, BTW, it can be washed away by water! *wink, wink* *clears throat*
> 
>  
> 
> Comment and leave kudos~  
> Thx for all the people who already left comments and kudos~ XDXD


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: mentions of abuse 
> 
> and... this chapter contains Louis's past, so proceed with care...

After a while, Liam broke the silence. “So... what are we going to do about it?”

 

“Um...” Niall trailed off.

 

Harry suddenly looked up. “We could search the Internet!”

 

“For what?” Zayn asked curiously.

 

“Well, we could search about Angels first, then about harnesses, then lastly why Angels would wear harnesses.” Harry suggested.

 

“That’s actually quite good. But we’ve got to take off Louis’s harness first.” Liam decided.

 

As it turned out, getting the harness off was easier than they thought. All it took was a hairpin (Zayn flushed and said it was Perrie’s) and a bit of wiggling around, and ta-da! The lock was off.

 

“God!” It was out before anyone could say anything. Because where the harness had been, the skin was red and bleeding. Liam gasped and inspected the harness. The inside was bloody.

 

“There’s these horrible metal curved hooks. They’re really sharp, must be these digging into Louis’s skin.” Liam reported.

 

Harry had a bottle of antiseptic cream beside him the whole time. He quickly smeared some on the red skin, all the while thinking about how much it had hurt Louis. It made him see red.

 

“Lou?” Niall asked quietly. The others turned around to see Louis blinking his incredibly beautiful eyes in confusion. His eyes landed on the harness in Liam’s hands, and something must have clicked, because he stared at them with fear and got off the bed, the blankets falling to the floor. However, he forgot that he was still sick, and therefore he felt really dizzy when his feet hit the ground. He almost collapsed, if Niall hadn’t caught him. Looking up at blue eyes that no longer mirrored his own, his mind was only repeating the same thought over and over again.

 

_“TheyknowTheyknowTheyknowTheyknowTheyknowTheyknowTheyknowTheyknowTheyknowTheyknow”_

 

“Lou? Louis?”

 

in his numb state, he barely registered when he had sat back down on the bed. He was snapped out of his trance by Zayn, who had snapped his fingers. He looked at the four worried boys sat in front him... who were staring at him also.

 

“Louis, why do you hide yourself?” Zayn’s voice was surprisingly gentle, considering that he had just been thinking about murder a second before.

 

“No, you don’t get it, my--” Louis shut up before he could say anything else.

 

“What, Louis? Is being an Angel so shameful? Are you not proud of yourself? Ashamed? You know, Ed, Perrie and a few others are also Angels. I don’t think they would appreciate it if you went and said this to them.” Harry pressed on, not caring that Louis’s lake blue eyes were filled with tears.

 

“An Angel, huh? You call yourself an Angel when you are clearly despising yourself. Otherwise, why would you even be wearing this? A harness. With sharp metal hooks. I bet they’re digging into your skin. Does it hurt? Or do you actually enjoy the feeling? The feeling of blood slowly trickling down your skin?” Harry continued on, mindful that Louis’s walls were going to crumble down any time. He just needed a little push.

 

“Your hair and eyes, why, they’re changed. How did you manage to hide it? I’m betting dye, and contacts, maybe. Don’t you think that hiding your true self is difficult? Why do you even do it anyway? Oh, I know. You hide your hair, eyes, wings, because you’re a coward.” Harry spat the word out, even though it was killing him to say it. “You’re so ashamed of yourself, then don’t be here. Just go, back to Doncaster, your mother would be so happy to see your pathetic excuse for a son, I bet--”

 

He’s cut off before he can say anything else, thankfully, because he himself was going to break down anytime. It was so hard, telling all those words to Louis when he was at his lowest, but Harry knew without the push, he wouldn’t tell the truth.

 

“No, you stop. You don’t know what you’re saying, you think it feels good, when it doesn’t. Who are you to make these accusations, when you’re an outsider? You don’t know what goes on in the family, do you? No, you don’t. Do you even know what you’re saying? I bet you don’t. I’m not a coward,” Louis flung the words back at him “and I never will be. Do you know why I even wear these? Why I dye my hair, put contacts on, still keep my harness on, be sassy, when I don’t want to do any of the stuff, just be myself? Because of my father.” Louis spat the word out with venom dripping. He was standing up right now, practically yelling.

 

“My father, Mark Tomlinson. He threatened me, hit me, just because he hated Angels, but the whole house was full of them. All my siblings were Angels, and Mark was so furious. So he’d take it out on me. Do you know what he does?” Hysterical laughter from Louis. The others was just staring, jaw dropped at him. “He takes anything he can get his hands on, and he hits me with it. A golf club, a briefcase, anything. He once flung a suitcase at me. My wrist broke. And he hits me with his bare hands, throws things at me, and throws me. Threw me down the staircase once. Most of my ribs broken. Nasty cut on the back of my head. Ten stitches. But I can’t get away. If I get away, he’s going to go after my sisters. They’re so young. They won’t be able to handle it. Every time I get back home, same treatment all over again. He forced me to dye my hair, put on contacts, put on the harness that hurt so unbelievably much. Every time, someone brushes my side, it hurts so much I can’t breathe.”

 

“Lou--” Liam said, tears in his eyes. “No, you listen.” Louis said fiercely. Liam let him be, knowing that he needed to release the emotions boiling inside him, the words he’s concealed so long, the wounds still hurting.

 

“He called me names. Said I was stupid, a fag, mocked me for being gay, being an Angel. Always says that I’m worthless, getting kicked out of school. I’m a disgrace to the family, no use to the band. I couldn’t get anything right, messing up everything, am I so disgraceful? Am I? Every time I do something wrong, step over the line a little bit, I get punished. I’m just the odd one out in the band, I shouldn’t be in it at all, should I? I don’t know, I’m so confused, I just want to die, and maybe everyone would be better off, yeah, yeah--”

 

Louis suddenly cut himself off and ran off. Harry, Liam, Niall and Zayn faced each other, not knowing what to do, tears streaming down their faces.

 

“We’ve—we’ve got to chase Louis.” Niall hiccupped. “In case he does something stupid.”

 

The four of them raced down the hallway and opened every door. It was Zayn who found the Doncaster boy huddled in his own bed, crying profusely and two deep slashes across his arms. Blood was dripping on the bed, and a bloody razor was clenched in his fist.

 

“Lou, oh god, why?” Zayn choked up, drawing him into a tight hug. Louis was crying heart-wrenchingly. Zayn’s hands were prying the razor from Louis’s fist, then circling around Louis’s wings, his tears landing on caramel hair. He had never felt so scared before. If he hadn’t found Louis in time...

 

Harry, Liam and Niall heard their bandmates crying from outside, but they didn’t expect to find them crying on the blood-stained bed, Zayn barely holding it together, Louis letting it all out and both of them clinging to each other like their only lifeline on the sea.

 

Zayn could hear footsteps coming closer, but he didn’t care. Instead, he hugged Louis tighter, terrified if he let go Louis would disappear forever. His tears were coming steadily now, blood was getting on his shirt, but what mattered was that _Louis could’ve died_. As it sank in, Zayn cried desperately.

 

Louis was ready to die. Had been ready to die. He was just about to make the last cut when Zayn barged in, his face changing from worried to relieved, relieved to concerned, concerned to dawning realization, and finally sadness. It was then Louis had finally broke. Keeping the secret for so many years was just too hard for him. His feelings had been buried so deep that he didn’t even know they existed, but as he cried in Zayn’s embrace, the raven-haired boy crying also, his feelings rose to the surface, and it was overwhelming. He didn’t know what to do but to let it all out.

 

Niall’s heart was breaking in half at the sight of his bandmates crying. He felt so helpless. He was supposed to be the one who provided the happiness to the band, but now he couldn’t even muster a smile. His tears had been flowing gradually during Louis’s admission and their search for Louis, now falling fast and hard. He wiped his eyes a few times, but they kept falling, more and more.

 

Harry was supposed to be the womanizer, the one who broke women’ hearts just by a single glance, now it was his heart breaking. The feeling was so painful, as he watched his bandmates break down, but he was still frozen with horror—horror at how Mark Tomlinson could treat his son like that. At the corner of his eyes, he saw Niall breaking down in tears, but stubbornly wiping them away again and again. His heart was aching painfully, but he could not bear seeing another bandmate break down without doing anything, so without a single thought, he turned and let the Irish boy fall into his arms, both of them crying.

 

Liam was consumed with guilt and anger—guilt because he was supposed to be ‘Daddy Direction’, but when Louis needed him most he actually pushed him away, and anger because a father did cruel things to his son and never regretted it. It made his heart clench without warning, a feeling he had never experienced before until today. He didn’t do anything, couldn’t do anything as his bandmates fell to pieces, especially Louis and Zayn.

 

Their band was once a perfect puzzle with five seemingly perfect pieces in it, but one of the pieces was already broken from the start. Now, their puzzle was torn to pieces with a gaping hole in the middle, the piece that contained the band’s soul and heart broken. All because of a man who thought it appropriate to destroy a person’s unique soul, creating wounds that would never heal, scars that would never fade.

 

Liam’s vision was obscured by tears and suddenly, he felt hands wrapping around him, urging him to let the tears fall. And so, he let himself fall into Harry’s and Niall’s embrace, the three of them crying together.

 

One band, five boys, one broken inside but never repaired, now broken beyond repair, the others helpless.

 

Liam was the first to dry up his tears after two hours of crying. His tears were finally all spent, as was Harry’s, but Niall, Louis and Zayn still hadn’t.

 

As Harry went to comfort Niall, Liam tried to soothe Louis and Zayn, but to no avail; Zayn was still badly shaken up over almost losing Louis and Louis was still letting out all his bottled-up emotions.

 

Eventually, Niall calmed himself down enough to take a shower. Harry was staring at the two of them still crying on the bed.

 

“Should we get them some food?” Harry asked, throat still raw from crying.

 

“Yeah, maybe we should. We’ll eat first, leave them some.” Liam croaked out, and cleared his throat.

 

Niall exited the bathroom. Clearing his throat as Liam did, he said “Just took a quick wash. It’s your turn.”

 

Their eyes were all rimmed red. Niall had no doubt that they wouldn’t fade for a while.

 

“I can’t—I mean,” Harry corrected “won’t take a shower yet.”

 

“Yeah, me too. Let’s order some food first.” Liam agreed.

 

“I’ll go and see if Louis and Zayn are okay.” Harry said after a moment of hesitation.

 

“‘Kay. So me and Niall will order food. Pizza?” Liam asked, a hint of smile on his lips.

 

“Why not?” Harry shrugged and walked to Louis’s bed, where Zayn and Louis—no, Louis was still crying softly.

 

“Z?” Harry asked uncertainly.

 

“Haz?” a rough voice asked.

 

“Hey, Niall and Liam are ordering pizza. What are you doing?” Harry asked.

 

There was a moment of silence, then “I’ve calmed down, mostly, but someone’s got to be here for Lou. And,” a deep breath “I’m still afraid if I let go, Louis will be gone forever.” Zayn admitted.

 

“That’s not going to happen, Z. We’re here for Lou, and we’d never let him do that.” Harry vowed.

 

“Yeah, but when I walked in and saw Louis... cutting, I felt so scared. If I hadn’t found him in time...” Zayn trailed off. “Anyway, I’ll take care of Lou. Go rest.”

 

“Alright.” Harry agreed. “But yell if you need anything.” He stood up.

 

“Sure.” Zayn promised.

 

Finally, Louis calmed down enough to let Zayn bandage his arm.

 

"Lou, why did you do it?" Zayn asked as he was smearing antiseptic cream on the deep cuts.

 

"I'm so sorry, I, I just panicked, I guess? I dunno, I thought that I wasn't good enough." Louis stammered.

 

"You are, Lou. You're good enough, even better than us." Zayn said with conviction.

 

A lone tear slipped out. "But… but the media… they said…"

 

"Who cares what the world thinks? You don't need to care what others think, just being yourself is enough." Harry suddenly spoke. Zayn and Louis jumped, apparently startled.

 

"When did you even get in, Haz?" Zayn asked in wonder.

 

"Just now. Liam sent me to tell the two of you pizza's here. Wanna eat?" Harry replied.

 

"Yeah, sure. What about you, Louis?"

 

"Um…" Louis hestitated.

 

"Hey, you don't have to if you don't want to." Zayn said.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh, um, I found out that I seem to have a thing for cliffhangers... 
> 
> anyway, second chapter for Second Star On The Right, Straight On 'Till Morning coming up! 
> 
> updating (hopefully *fingers crossed for no homework*) in this week 
> 
> will be updating next week also--crossovers between 1D and books, movies, TV shows, etc. 
> 
> Stay tuned!

**Author's Note:**

> Comment and leave kudos!! XDXD


End file.
